A hard disk drive (HDD) is a data storage device that uses magnetic storage to store and retrieve digital information. An HDD receives commands from a host, such as a computer, to either store information (e.g., a write command) or to retrieve information (e.g., a read command). HDDs allow multiple commands to be received from the host and then queued to allow more efficient execution of the received commands. Information relating to the queued commands is stored in a host command queue, which has a limited size, until completed by the HDD. Once the host command queue is filled, the host is no longer able to provide commands to the HDD until a command residing in the host command queue is completed. Even if the host command queue is not actually full, the host command queue may be “effectively full”, that is, the host may not be willing to leave more than a certain number of commands outstanding. The HDD's inability to accept or the host's unwillingness to send further commands reduces device performance. Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus for mitigating reduced performance in the event of a full host command queue.